With a panicked scream, Paul is taken down by a smaller humanoid figure. Fausto, initially startled, realizes that he has to go and save Paul. He rushes to his aid, trying his best to pry the humanoid off of him. However, a small detail catches Fausto's attention, Whatever this thing smells good, like a woman's smell. Like flowers, or the soft scent of a girl's skin. He is confused how can something so good smelling be so dangerous. "Fausto, help me get this baby black bear off of me?!", yells out Paul. "Black Bear?," Fausto thinks to himself, "Does it smell like honey? Nah, it doesn't smell like honey but it does smell sweet."
"Wait? You're human?", says the humanoid shadow.
Paul lets out a womanly scream, "Oh my god, the bear spoke!" Fausto steps back and thinks to himself, "Jesus Christ, I'm back in that weird-ass place". The humanoid put its palm on Paul's head to prop itself up, crushing his face into the wooden floor of the shed. He lets out a loud groan of pain.
"Sorry, I thought you were another one of those things", says the shadow again. Fausto tries to see through the shadow and his eyes finally begin to adjust through the darkness. He realizes that the humanoid figure isn't a monster, or even a baby black bear. But rather, a small woman with long, black hair wrapped into a messy bun. Her clothes don't appear to be regular, casual clothing but instead of the military equipped, just like the kinds those military dudes Fausto saw the other night. However, Fausto can't quite remember if he saw such a cute girl in that crowd of loud, obnoxious and scary soldiers. Whether if she was or not, she must have some serious training and strength to wrestle Paul to the ground and fight off Fausto.
Paul lets out another groan, following a long winded ow. "Let me help you out", says the small soldier to paul. She extends a hand down to paul up and for some reason, Paul expected that now she has let her guard down, she will be more gentle with her actions but no, she yanked him just as hard as she knocked him. "Ow, watch out! Don't rip off my arm, you fucking sasquatch!", yells out Paul in pain. She lets out a little chuckle and says", Sasquatch?! That's kind of funny."
Fausto figures that this military chick must know something that is going on here, maybe it would be the perfect time to get some information regarding all this bat-shit crazy things going on. What happened to Issac and Katya, that monster that ate or killed the homeless, those MP's gunning down that deer, the now missing MPs, those vines, the strange dream he had that felt all to real; if anyone had a better understand, it would have to be her. So trying to figure a good opener, Fausto opens up with a smile, "So...". The millitary girl looks over to him with soft eyes.
"So... umm", all of Fausto's courage to find the truth is immediately drained from him. This man is found completely dumbfounded and reduced to a stuttering, dumb beast. "So do you come here often?", stammered Fausto.
"What?", says the military girl.
"Umm", stuttered Fausto.
Why would he say this in this kind of situation, lamented Fausto to himself. Then it dawned on him. Besides Rachel, Alora and the barmaid, Sheryl, Fausto had no Idea on how to talk to the opposite gender. He always had a hard time trying to utter a phrase or anything, the best he can do is let out an awkward chuckle or say something stupid trying to be humorous but no one would laugh at his attempt. He began to feel his face turn hot from the embarrassment he has caused himself in this very unconventional and stressful moment.
"Did you ask if I came here often?", the military girl. Fausto with his quick thinking decided he was going to deny the truth because it would be too embarrassing if that was the first thing he said to her. Afterall, they are in a spooky forest with even spookier things and he just said the most generic and used pick-up line by people with no game. But it wasn't his fault, under extreme pressure, like talking to a girl, Fausto tends to get very, very stupid.
"No, I said if you were coming here to hide from something", blurts out Fausto as his face begins to turn red. The girl smiles and says, "Oh ok, sure you did."
"Hell yeah, she doesn't know I said that", thinks Fausto to himself. He just barely escaped an awkward moment.
"Oh by the way, I don't come here often", teasingly says the military girl with a smile. Fausto's relief suddenly turns into a deep state of embarrassment and then into self loathing. "Oh that's good... it really sucks here", replies Fausto with his face fully colored red. At least it was dark in the shed so no one can see his face that well, but Fausto had to endure with knowledge that he just lost his chances of being taken seriously by the soldier as well as the shame that Fausto's lack of social skills has embraced him once again. "I don't recommend coming here", self-loathes Fausto.
The military girl laughs and says" No, yeah, this place sucks butt. What's your name, Joker?" Fausto feels even more embarrassed at the fact that she is laughing at him, "She is even calling me names! A joker, she's calling me a jester. A local fool", thinks fausto with a pain in his stomach.
Fausti tries to open his mouth but no words would come out and Paul finally, settling down from the injury in his arm, decides to step in. "I'm Paul and that's...", Paul points at Fausto with physical embarrassment (He too heard the exchange and thought what a mook Fausto is), "that's Fausto."
"Paul and Fausto. You ever heard the story Faust?", asks the girl. Her saying this snaps Fausto out of his coma. "Yeah I hear it all the time", he says with a bit of annoyance.
"I bet you do... that's a pretty weird name you got there."